Blockchain Technology: Energy Community and Beyond

The European Commission published in 2015 “Energy Union Strategy” to make energy production safer, more sustainable, competitive, and economical. To allow citizens of a community to cooperate to consume and exchange renewable energy they produce, the use of blockchain technology seems natural. In this note, we will start from a concrete case study to see what the technological challenges (and not only) are to be overcome. Furthermore, in the last sections, it will be shown how the creation of the IT infrastructure necessary for the exchange of energy produced can also be used for other purposes. That is according to the smart city paradigm to create a community able to make the most of the touristic, environmental, and social resources of the territory in which it lives.